Dear Pat: There is a recipe I am desperate to find. It's the brown rice at La Fiesta Patio Café in Universal City. I actually start to crave the item about two-three times a month. Your help with this would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Dear Brandi: It's January, the time when we all vow to eat healthy, but who among us can forgo our beloved Tex-Mex? Luckily, there's no need for so rash a step. A trip to La Fiesta Patio Café allows us to enjoy our favorite Tex-Mex foods without the guilt. Owners Pat and Roger Diaz have been serving their unique and healthy versions of Tex-Mex cuisine since 1974, so you know the food has to be delicious as well as nutritious, since it's been satisfying San Antonian's discerning palates all these years.

The restaurant is vegetarian friendly, so in addition to meats and chicken, tofu is available as the protein for tacos, enchiladas and salads. They use whole grains, legumes and fresh vegetables, including garlic and peppers, and where needed, cook with pure peanut oil, not lard. Whole-wheat and unbleached flours, a moderate amount of sea salt, plus herbs and spices go into the preparation of their dishes, never artificial flavor enhancers or preservatives.

A dish as seemingly simple as their rice is a prime example of the care taken with both product and preparation. Whole-grain brown rice and exacting technique yield superb results. Subtly toasted, the separate grains take on the flavor of the onion, garlic, pepper and tomato, and the texture is almost meaty, not dry or mushy. Pat Diaz stresses that the method is actually more important than the exact amount of spices and vegetables, which you can adjust to taste. Diaz instructs us to have all the vegetables chopped and the spices measured before beginning cooking, so you can devote all your attention to properly stirring and browning the rice.

Aside from the typical Spanish flavorings, the technique of browning the rice is also “Spanish-style.” The Spaniards brought rice to Mexico. (Before that, folks in Mexico relied almost exclusively on beans and corn.) The process of frying the rice in oil is said to have come from the Spaniards who, in turn, had learned it from the Arabs. It's this process that ensures that the grains remain separate.

The brown rice is just the beginning, of course. La Fiesta Patio Café is known for its wonderful tortilla soup, puffy tacos, unique sauces, tacos, enchiladas, salads and much more. Visit them soon and enjoy your dinner with a clear conscience.